India wait on Abhishek Sharma's recovery; Bumrah bowls again

Two days out from the league stage game against Namibia in Delhi, India's first training session offered a glimpse of what might come on Thursday. Abhishek Sharma, who played against USA in Mumbai, has battled a stomach-related illness and did not come out to train.

"Abhi [Abhishek Sharma] has still got a few issues with his tummy, we hope that he'll be available for the game," India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said before the session.

If India's nets routine from match minus-two day is anything to go by, Abhishek might not be rushed back. There's Wednesday's training left to assess.

On Tuesday evening, under lights, Ishan Kishan walked out to bat first and had Sanju Samson following him to play in tandem in the pace bowlers' net. They faced Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh and a left-arm net bowler—perhaps to replicate the angles created by Namibia's quick Ruben Trumplemann. At the spinners net, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav batted together to make up India's potential top-four.

Samson has had a dramatic last few weeks, losing his opener's spot in India's first World Cup game in Mumbai. His lack of runs and Kishan's form coincided, relegating him to the bench at the start of the tournament.

"Look, I think at this level you need to be honest and transparent. The way the cards have fallen, Sanju's had all the support that he could possibly have had," ten Doeschate said.

"He went through that phase where we tried him in the middle order and then he had the reprieve when he came back [to top]. Unfortunately, with the high level of cricket, when someone like Ishan comes in and has a series like he has, it's pretty obvious what the selection is going to be for that first game. But we also understand there's probably five or six more games to win and all 15 members are vitally crucial."

Samson had a 30-odd minute hit against the fast bowlers, beginning tentatively—a pronounced trigger movement has hindered his shot-making lately. He toned that down a touch on Tuesday but took a while before middling the ball properly. He eventually sent a length ball from Hardik over extra cover and flicked with authority against Arshdeep. Shortly after, the batters switched places as Samson and Kishan walked over to face left-arm throwdown specialist Nuwan Seneviratne and the spin pair of Varun CV and Axar Patel. Samson found better rhythm in this net, particularly against the spinners, stepping out with confidence to hit on both sides of the wicket. That might serve him well against Namibia, who tend to use left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz in the PowerPlay.

With Jasprit Bumrah, there's more hope for readiness. "Bumrah will bowl today, he's been off 10 days without bowling, but he's feeling a lot better and moving a lot better, so we'll see how training goes," ten Doeschate said.

A little over an hour into India's session, Bumrah bowled to Suryakumar and Tilak at the pacer's net and showed no signs of the illness that kept him out in Mumbai. He operated for around 25 minutes and came away without any issues. India then continued to send out their batters in order, as Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya replaced the top-four in the two nets.